Jersey City family terrorized in dispute with rival Manhattan food cart vendor, police said

A Jersey City man and his family were terrorized by a group of men in a dispute over the placement of food carts in Manhattan, police say.Journal file photo

A Jersey City man was attacked with a knife and his family was terrorized by a rival New York City hot dog vendor and his posse in their home, police said.

The victim, 36, told police the 2:15 p.m. attack yesterday at the family's Rock Street home stemmed from an ongoing territorial dispute over the placement of shish kabob and hot dogs carts in Manhattan.

The man was with his wife and four children, ages 1, 3, 8 and 9, when four men forced themselves into the home.

One of the attackers yelled at the man "Like I told you before, I am gonna kill you and kidnap your kids, if you keep selling or putting the cart in my areas," police were told.

The Jersey City man told police the man and another from the group then attacked him with pocket knives, cutting the victim's right upper arm. The victim's wife, holding the 1-year-old in her arms, tried to defend her husband from the attack, but she and the baby were thrown into a wall, shattering a mirror, police said.

The wife, 32, then grabbed all four kids and ran into a bedroom with them, police were told. Just then a family friend was arriving at the home and rushed in when he heard screaming coming from inside, police said.

Seeing the man, the four intruders stopped harassing the homeowner and fled, police reports said. The victim told police that he had filed a report against the rival food cart operator in Manhattan a few weeks ago.

He also told police that he could identify the four men who broke into his home and that he considered two of them his friends. The Jersey City man's injury were considered minor and he refused medical attention, police said.